


Together

by firststar46



Category: Keyakizaka46 (Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21594754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firststar46/pseuds/firststar46
Summary: Keyaki Kimetsu no Yaiba AU because why not?
Kudos: 2





	Together

With a loud thwack, a bamboo sword is flung into the air. The short haired girl lost her balance and fell with a surprised yelp, while a long haired girl points her sword at her. The two then broke into laughter.

“Neru-chan, you’re so good!” The long haired girl who defeated her offered her hand, and the short haired received her help to stand back up. “I haven’t been able to defeat you.”

“Yone-chan always have a new technique to use, you’re amazing!” Neru, the long haired girl, praised back. “My only advantage is that I’m faster.”

“Neru-chan, you’re so humble.” Yone paused. “I heard that you’ll be leaving for the Butterfly Estate soon?”

“... Yeah.” Neru nods. “Tomorrow morning, actually.”

“Oh…” The sad look in Yone’s face is washed away with a blinding smile. “It’s okay, I’ll catch up with you in a year! I’ll pass the Final Selection, and I’ll make you give me a tour of the estate!”

“Sounds great!” Neru showed her pinky finger. “Promise?”

Yone grinned, and wrap her pinky around Neru’s. “Promise!”

That was four years ago. When they were young and optimistic, full of hope. Nagahama Neru sometimes wonder if she ever want to return to that time, but this is not the place to think of past memories and mistakes.

“Caw! Caw! Upper Demon Five have been sighted!” Risa’s Kasugai Crow flew over her head, screaming messages in a loud raspy voice. “Caw! Caw! Everyone except the Pillars, please retreat to a safe distance!”

“Upper Demon Five…” Neru ran deeper inside the forest. It grew thicker and darker, but the light from the moonlight is enough for her to navigate herself. She knows her own crow is flying somewhere nearby, so Neru shouted, “Neruko, please find where the demon is!”

A white crow shot ahead of her, and Neru follow. She went even deeper inside the forest, seeing many trails of blood and gore, with strange plant statues, with sound of intense fighting come from all directions. But Neruko flies true, and Neru trust her crow. Soon, the Insect Pillar arrived in a clearing. She barely noticed the bodies, for they look like already covered with mold and flowers.

A pale skinned female stood at the center, the blade of the sword she carries is red with blood. She was looking up, as if admiring the moon. The short hair is still the same as Neru remembers. And soon, the demonic figure turn at her and smile.

“Neru-chan.” Upper Demon Five waved her hand. “Long time no see.”

“Hello, Yone.” Neru’s unsheathed her poison covered sword. “I’ve finally found you.”

“Is that how you greet a friend?” Yone pouted.

“You’re a demon now.” Neru bit her lips. “An Upper Demon.”

“And you are the Insect Pillar.” Yone grinned. “You wear the butterfly hakama better than your predecessor.”

“You killed her.” Neru readied her weapon. “You betrayed us!"

They lunge at each other, sword against sword like how it was when they were children. Yone tries to touch Neru, trying to turn her skin into moss, but Neru always managed to cut her fingers and arm away. Even so, the demon’s regeneration always bring it back, and the strange moss always nullfied her sword’s poison. Neru knows she has to wound Yone’s neck or heart, but even if she made it there is no guarantee that her poison will really work.

“You’ve grown faster.” Yone giggled. “But you’re not the only one now.”

Of course Neru is well aware of that. Whatever demonic enchantment Yone received, she is now more than capable of keeping up with her. Or rather, Neru is the one having trouble following up, and has been put in a defensive position. Not just the deadly touch, she has to keep an eye on her blade and the other tricks she may have.

“Got you!” Yone snarled as she thrust her claw to her face, through an opening Neru failed to notice. But a flurry of blue, water like flash passed and the claw is cut from the body. Yone jumped back to create a distance between her and the newcomer.

“Sorry I’m late.” Watanabe Risa, Water Pillar, let’s out a relieved sigh. Her eyes go wide the moment she realized who they are facing. “... Yone?”

“Ricchan.” Yone waved her intact hand, as the other is regenerating. “Who else is here? Don’t tell me it’s a reunion party?”

“So it’s true.” Risa frowned.

“Well, with the dawn coming, I’m afraid I can’t be around for so long.” Yone showed a sad expression on her face. She put her intact harm into her mouth, and bit all the fingers off. She spit the bitten fingers on the ground around her, and from those fingers are born new bodies, like a copy of Yone. The demon smirked, and all her copies did the same. “Have fun!”

“Yone!” Neru want to give chase, but the copies made their way toward the two Pillar, while her former friend retreated into the forest. Each copies are as strong as the original, and with how exhausted Neru is she’s not sure she can keep up with the flurry of dangerous attacks.

“Caw! Caw! Reinforcements are coming!” Risa’s crow croaked. “Caw! Caw! Mist Pillar and Thund--”

With a loud bang of thunder, a flash of yellow passed in front of her, cutting a copy into pieces. A small figure wearing a yellow hakama cursed as she turned for another dash, readying her knives. Suzumoto Miyu said nothing as she engaged the copy she failed to kill, trying to figure out a way to permanently kill it.

“Yuipon and the others are on their way, we’ll be fine.” Risa shouted at her. “Go! Stop Yone!”

Neru nodded, and when she found her chance she darted toward the forest to follow where Yone have gone to. The sound of fighting slowly disappear, and from the position of the moon, Neru could tell that dawn is coming in less than two hours.

“Why are you so persistent?” A shadow jumped on her from the trees, and in reflect Neru evaded to the side. There is no time to breathe, as Yone relentlessly chase after her. Neru regained herself, placing a strong step and return to her stance, and if there is one thing that Yone may have forgotten about Neru is that she shouldn’t fight her in close combat.

Because she will win.

Perhaps it is something that she is born with, or maybe something that she gains from all the tree climbing she did as a child, but Neru is stronger than average. The Breath of Flower and Insect both relies on swift, graceful movements, to make a precise and shallow cuts for the poison to seep in. But in Neru’s hand, if need to, it can be something more dangerous.

Yone noticed the change in expression, the look in Neru’s face. She tries to jump back, retreating to a safe distance with arms crossed to protect her neck, but a sword sliced through as easy as breaking a branch off a tree. The demon lose her balance, and next her legs are cut off, and fell off on the ground.

“Neru…” Yone whispered, a look of surprise in her eyes as the Pillar stood over her. “Neru.”

The long haired woman points her sword toward the neck. One attack, and everything will be over. Neru have tried to tell herself for the past years that Yone have died, or worse, and yet she cannot bring herself to swing the sword.

A crucial, beginner mistake, and perhaps she deserve what happens next.

A frog like tongue shot out of Yone’s mouth, pain on her cheek. Neru took a careful distance to assess the wound, small cut with green moss goo sticking onto it.

“There will be little pain as your body slowly turned into a plant, but you’ll soon forget about all that.” Yone chuckled as she rose back on her freshly regenerated legs, her arms are returning back to shape as well. “You’ll turn into a beautiful plant statue. Just like her.”

Neru know this poison all too well, the same poison that killed the former Insect Pillar in a false rescue mission. There is no antidote, at least not one that a human can create, but there is little chance that the poison will turn useless if she could kill Yone quick enough.

I can’t die, Neru thought. Not until I kill her.

Perhaps something has showed in her expression, as Yone’s mocking smile is changed into something more serious, as if Yone is starting to enjoy this. Sun is rising from the east, but Yone did not budge, as if she is set to finish this deathmatch they are having.

They stared at each other for a moment, before rushing at each other one last time.

It was a brutal fight, where neither of them care of their physical body. Neru hacks through Yone’s defense, and Yone clawed into Neru.

"You stupid! Idiot!" Neru screams, tears flowing out of her eyes. "Selling your soul to the devil!"

"You don't understand what I feel!" Yone screamed back, hurt in her face. "I never able to catch up to you, or anyone else!"

"Why do you always see yourself so small!?" As demonic blood cover Neru's blade, moss started to bloom on it, chipping it from the inside. "You're smart! The smartest of us! You can easily go as far as we are!"

"It's easy for you to say! You never see how people look at you. With awe and admiration!" The poison from the blade seep deep inside her guts and bones, not truly cut and regenerate with the limbs. Yone didn't think it was possible, but she is truly getting poisoned. "I am nothing but your shadow! A nobody!"

"There are those who see you for who you are!" Behind Neru, dawn rises with her sword. Yone narrowed her eyes, unable to clearly see from the shine. "There's us!"

A slash of sword cut through a throat, and with it the blade broke to pieces.

A claw tear through a warm chest, a fatal wound that seal a fate.

Yone's head rolls onto a pair bloodied hand, warm tears drip onto the demon's cold cheek. The Pillar wrap her onto a hug, as the dead body slowly disappears into the wind. A white crow circles on top of them in the sky.

"We could've be together." Nery softly sobs. Moss have already covered a small part of her beautiful face, and is spreading. "The estate is big, but empty without you."

"I… I remember the promise." Yone blinked. "It felt like a lifetime ago."

"It indeed feel like so." Neru giggled.

"... I've made a big mistake, am I?" Yone blinked again. "A horrible mistake."

"It's okay." Neru shushed. "Everything is okay now."

"How I wish I can redo everything." Tears? Is it even possible for a demon to cry? "But I probably can't."

"Don't say that. You don't know that." Neru's grip grows weaker. "We can hope for it."

"It'll be great if so." Yone sighed, as her head started to disappear. "I hope they can save the rest."

"I'm sure they can." Neru laughed. How Yone have missed that sound of laughter. "They'll best some sense to them, like I did to you."

"That's good." Yone smiled. "Thank you for doing so to me."

\---

Risa run as fast as her legs can toward where Neruko is, ignoring all the wounds and exhaustion. The Water Pillar looked around for any signs of her friends, both the human and demon one, and spot something of interest.

A beautiful statue of green and flowers, looking like it's holding something onto it's chest. The butterfly hakama made it look even more beautiful.

"Caw! Caw! Upper Demon Five is eradicated!" Risa's crow announced above. "Caw! Caw! The Insect Pillar Nagahama Neru is dead!"

\----

Everything is white, and Yone is a child again. A big dark shadow creep closer toward her, wanting to swallow her whole.

A hand grip onto hers tightly, and Neru grin at her. Yone shook her head, trying to push her friend toward the light, but Neru won't budge. Yone sighed from giving up, and wrap her fingers around Neru's. 

Together, they face the darkness.


End file.
